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HomeNewsSupreme Court’s verdict on the Cauvery dispute between neighbouring states

Supreme Court’s verdict on the Cauvery dispute between neighbouring states

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Chennai:

According to Ramaswamy Meyyappan, Member of Tamilnadu young thinkers forum expressed his view of Supreme Court’s verdict on the Cauvery dispute between
neighbouring states as follows:

Key points to note on Apex Court’s Verdict,
1. Ownership of the river Cauvery cannot be enjoyed by either Tamil Nadu or Karnataka;
2. The Hon’ble Supreme Court observes that, amicable and peaceful resolution can happen only on discussions being held by all stake holders keeping in mind larger interests of the people, the environment, etc.;
3. The findings are based on the technical study conducted and report produced, on currently irrigated land in the basin, ground water resources and other such resources available to manage the water requirements;
4. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that the net water to be released by the state of Karnataka to the state of Tamil Nadu for irrigation purposes in the basin is at 177.25 TMC which is a reduction of 14.75 TMC as against the Order of the Hon’ble Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) of 192 TMC;
5. The reason for reduction has been attributed to the existing available supply of ground water in Tamil Nadu of about 20 TMC in the basin of which 10 TMC can potentially be utilised for the purpose of irrigation. The reasoning behind this will have to be looked at on the basis of the technical study conducted;
6. Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) to be established by the Central Government.

From the verdict, it is observed that Tamil Nadu will now be the beneficiary of 54.6% of Cauvery water released by Karnataka, a minor drop from the 56.6% as per the Tribunal Order of 2007.

The water released is proportionate to the basin area of both states and this should be seen as an objective verdict.The Verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court should be looked at in a positive light firstly because it has upheld the principle that River Cauvery cannot be deemed to be owned by either state and looking at the land use in the basin and the irrigation requirement as described above, the share of water is proportional according to the Order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a normal water year. (Normal Water Year is a year in which the already stated 740 TMC water is available).

Further the direction to establish the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) is a welcome move. The Apex court has also observed that water is a resource for everyone and better water management, returning to the proper use of tanks, bunds, etc. planning against global warming, use of technology, are important issues to be addressed by both States and all stake holders.

It is to be seen if the detailed judgement of the Apex Court has considered what should be done at time of distress in either or both states, i.e. when the water available for irrigation due to poor monsoons in either or both states is below the average requirement. The Order of the Tribunal in 2007 to proportionally share the water lead to confusion and resulted in bandhs, vandalism and riots in 2016.

Proportional water share will have to be analysed on the basis of irrigation time and irrigated area at times of distress. It will help if the Apex court has considered such a situation and provided guidelines to act in such situations.

The Cauvery issue is larger than a political concern. Time and again, various tribunals, committees and political accords have not helped in resolving the looming water crisis in both the states. In that light, it remains to be seen if the Hon’ble Apex Court has also considered the mismanagement of water resources, land use, planning, global warming, climate change, etc. in delivering such a verdict.

Issues of Nationalization of rivers, interlinking of rivers, water management, land use management, etc. need to be addressed. And, a strong National Water Policy (NWP) is the first step towards addressing these concerns. The establishment of the CMWB should be complemented by a holistic NWP. Given that large parts of India are subjected to floods and droughts in the same time-frame, NWP is more a necessity than a manifesto item.

The economic and cultural costs of sharing a river between two states have far greater consequences than just cashing in on the farmer votes. The Tamil Nadu Young Thinkers Forum (TNYTF) commends the Hon’ble Supreme Court for a timely and objective verdict. In the larger cause of a growing economy and sustaining eco-systems as diverse as that of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, TNYTF hopes for a long-term solution through a comprehensive National Water Policy.

(Ramaswamy Meyyappan is a member of Tamil Nadu Young Thinkers Forum and is a lawyer at the Madras high Court and the NCLT, Chennai)

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